As far as we know, a formal search committee continues to be ironed out. There, as you might expect, does not appear to be a lot of activity yet as the search is in its infancy and will really heat up once seasons are over in the coming month.
There has obviously been a groundswell of support that we have detected on these boards and from feedback from Wolfpack fans for Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall. Thus it is worth noting that while Marshall appears to have that edge that athletics director Debbie Yow is looking for, and one source indicated to us that NC State was a job that Marshall would have in the past certainly taken, we have had two different and unrelated sources with relationships with Marshall that have indicated that they found it unlikely at this point Marshall would accept the NC State job.
As we noted previously, Marshall and NC State did the song and dance six years ago and it turned out not to be a match at that point. Since then Marshall’s star has risen and he has become perhaps the most well-paid head coach at a mid-major school ($3.5 million next year). Otherwise, the dynamics have not changed much between Marshall and NC State. The principals involved are the same.
That’s not to say Marshall is not a name to watch. As noted before, his profile speaks for itself and would be a hit among Wolfpack fans looking for a coach who would believe in his core that he and NC State belong in the same breath as the blue bloods on Tobacco Road with their respective Hall of Fame coaches.
But it would likely take a significant amount of money and a bit of a start-over from six years ago to make it work. Could that happen? There are some who believe that NC State remains a job that intrigues Marshall, and there is also a belief this might be the year Marshall seeks to move on from Wichita State. There are also rumblings that Wichita State will move to start up a football program, which could cut into its basketball budget.
As for the other name most frequently mentioned, NC State alum and Dayton head coach Archie Miller, one more high-level source told us this week that they doubted Miller would be interested leaving a steady situation to take on a potentially major rebuilding job. We are certain however that NCSU will do its due diligence with Miller. The hope is to get the chance to sell Miller what leadership’s vision of the Wolfpack’s program is.
As part of any sales pitch, Yow is prepared to meet one of the perception challenges head on: the notion that she is difficult to work with. Yow, we are told, is gathering testimonials from a litany of former coaches to rebut those claims. The bottom line message, if Yow hired you and you win, she is a popular AD to work with. Even outgoing head coach Mark Gottfried, according to a source, let Yow know when UCLA had an opening a few years ago that he felt Yow was the best AD he had ever worked for.
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One name Pack fans to should know: Jordan Bazant. He is the agent for Gottfried. He is also the agent for NC State football coach Dave Doeren and played a prominent role in that search going incredibly smooth and efficiently. In recent years, Bazant picked up Wolfpack baseball coach Elliott Avent as a client.
Thus Yow has an extensive relationship with Bazant. One of Bazant’s clients is VCU head coach Will Wade. We are told Wade also knows current Wolfpack assistant coach Heath Schroyer (also a Bazant client). Thus Wade will have a lot of insight into the NC State coaching situation.
In another twist of irony, both Marshall and UNC Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts share the same agent: Myles Solomon.
When the search does get into full swing, we continue to contend that the early names to watch will be Wade and Keatts. One name that did get thrown out over the weekend is USC head coach Andy Enfield, but it is worth noting he has signed a stellar class at Southern Cal for the next year — Duke transfer Derryck Thornton and former Wolfpack target Charles O’Bannon Jr. highlight it — so it might be far-fetched to see him leave. USC also has its top eight scorers expected back from a likely NCAA Tournament team.
***
This is just for fun.
A couple of names from left field that we have not heard mentioned at all from any source related at all to NC State but would be interesting to us: Villanova associate head coach Baker Dunleavy and Oklahoma State head coach Brad Underwood.
Dunleavy has been called by Wildcats head coach Jay Wright his “chief of staff” and apparently handles all of Villanova’s day-to-day operations. ESPN’s Jay Bilas recently brought up Dunleavy, the son of former NBA head coach and current Tulane head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. The 33-year old was Wright’s right hand man when Villanova won the national title last season and has been the associate head coach since 2013, during which Villanova has gone on an incredible run.
The question is: would Yow and NCSU fans accept a young assistant coach without head coaching experience?
Underwood is just in his first season at Oklahoma State and is reportedly the lowest paid coach in the Big 12, making $1 million this year. His salary gradually increases to $1.6 million in 2020-21. But he also has a hefty $3 million buyout.
Underwood, who was once an assistant at South Carolina, went 89-14 in three years at Stephen F. Austin while going 53-1 (not a misprint) in Southland Conference action, going to the NCAA Tournament all three years and reaching the round of 32 twice. He is 18-9 thus far this season at Oklahoma State after taking over for the fired Travis Ford and 7-7 in the Big 12. Last year the Cowboys went 12-20.
There has obviously been a groundswell of support that we have detected on these boards and from feedback from Wolfpack fans for Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall. Thus it is worth noting that while Marshall appears to have that edge that athletics director Debbie Yow is looking for, and one source indicated to us that NC State was a job that Marshall would have in the past certainly taken, we have had two different and unrelated sources with relationships with Marshall that have indicated that they found it unlikely at this point Marshall would accept the NC State job.
As we noted previously, Marshall and NC State did the song and dance six years ago and it turned out not to be a match at that point. Since then Marshall’s star has risen and he has become perhaps the most well-paid head coach at a mid-major school ($3.5 million next year). Otherwise, the dynamics have not changed much between Marshall and NC State. The principals involved are the same.
That’s not to say Marshall is not a name to watch. As noted before, his profile speaks for itself and would be a hit among Wolfpack fans looking for a coach who would believe in his core that he and NC State belong in the same breath as the blue bloods on Tobacco Road with their respective Hall of Fame coaches.
But it would likely take a significant amount of money and a bit of a start-over from six years ago to make it work. Could that happen? There are some who believe that NC State remains a job that intrigues Marshall, and there is also a belief this might be the year Marshall seeks to move on from Wichita State. There are also rumblings that Wichita State will move to start up a football program, which could cut into its basketball budget.
As for the other name most frequently mentioned, NC State alum and Dayton head coach Archie Miller, one more high-level source told us this week that they doubted Miller would be interested leaving a steady situation to take on a potentially major rebuilding job. We are certain however that NCSU will do its due diligence with Miller. The hope is to get the chance to sell Miller what leadership’s vision of the Wolfpack’s program is.
As part of any sales pitch, Yow is prepared to meet one of the perception challenges head on: the notion that she is difficult to work with. Yow, we are told, is gathering testimonials from a litany of former coaches to rebut those claims. The bottom line message, if Yow hired you and you win, she is a popular AD to work with. Even outgoing head coach Mark Gottfried, according to a source, let Yow know when UCLA had an opening a few years ago that he felt Yow was the best AD he had ever worked for.
***
One name Pack fans to should know: Jordan Bazant. He is the agent for Gottfried. He is also the agent for NC State football coach Dave Doeren and played a prominent role in that search going incredibly smooth and efficiently. In recent years, Bazant picked up Wolfpack baseball coach Elliott Avent as a client.
Thus Yow has an extensive relationship with Bazant. One of Bazant’s clients is VCU head coach Will Wade. We are told Wade also knows current Wolfpack assistant coach Heath Schroyer (also a Bazant client). Thus Wade will have a lot of insight into the NC State coaching situation.
In another twist of irony, both Marshall and UNC Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts share the same agent: Myles Solomon.
When the search does get into full swing, we continue to contend that the early names to watch will be Wade and Keatts. One name that did get thrown out over the weekend is USC head coach Andy Enfield, but it is worth noting he has signed a stellar class at Southern Cal for the next year — Duke transfer Derryck Thornton and former Wolfpack target Charles O’Bannon Jr. highlight it — so it might be far-fetched to see him leave. USC also has its top eight scorers expected back from a likely NCAA Tournament team.
***
This is just for fun.
A couple of names from left field that we have not heard mentioned at all from any source related at all to NC State but would be interesting to us: Villanova associate head coach Baker Dunleavy and Oklahoma State head coach Brad Underwood.
Dunleavy has been called by Wildcats head coach Jay Wright his “chief of staff” and apparently handles all of Villanova’s day-to-day operations. ESPN’s Jay Bilas recently brought up Dunleavy, the son of former NBA head coach and current Tulane head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. The 33-year old was Wright’s right hand man when Villanova won the national title last season and has been the associate head coach since 2013, during which Villanova has gone on an incredible run.
The question is: would Yow and NCSU fans accept a young assistant coach without head coaching experience?
Underwood is just in his first season at Oklahoma State and is reportedly the lowest paid coach in the Big 12, making $1 million this year. His salary gradually increases to $1.6 million in 2020-21. But he also has a hefty $3 million buyout.
Underwood, who was once an assistant at South Carolina, went 89-14 in three years at Stephen F. Austin while going 53-1 (not a misprint) in Southland Conference action, going to the NCAA Tournament all three years and reaching the round of 32 twice. He is 18-9 thus far this season at Oklahoma State after taking over for the fired Travis Ford and 7-7 in the Big 12. Last year the Cowboys went 12-20.
